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A Tale Of Ivory Mischief

By

Simon Winchester

Updated July 10, 1998 1:10 a.m. ET

A ll modern novels of quality should contain at least one scene of such surpassing intensity as to cause a film director to sit straight up in his bath, blink in happy disbelief and cry "Eureka!" These days there are a host of formulae like this for writing successful works of fiction, much as there are guaranteed ways of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter, or a triumphant creator of advertising pitches. And clearly some good writers pay attention: It was really no surprise at all to find that in this particular modern novel of quality, Richard Wiley's "Ahmed's Revenge" (Random House, 322 Pages, $23.95),...